Dear Brothers,
Another month has slipped by us. October brings us to our Annual Table Lodge, with our Brothers from Central Lodge, and other invited guests. That is always an enjoyable time of fellowship. Our speaker this year will be RW Andy Churney, the Grand Almoner, who will speak about the Masonic Charity Foundation.
October also brings us to another FC degree, as our new EA Brothers take the next step on their Masonic journey. While looking for some Trestleboard topics, I chanced upon an essay written by MW Ray W Burgess, PGM of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. He discusses some of the symbolism used in the Fellowcraft degree and I’d like to share some of his thoughts with you. He writes, “each man must try himself by the unerring standard of the plumb line. The plumb line is the symbol of the uprightness of character, of integrity, of honest and fair dealings among persons. To plumb one’s life and actions are to test them by the eternal laws of God.
So it is with Freemasonry. The real worth of a Mason can never be measured in the opinion of his fellows or in the Masonic honors he has attained. The standard by which a Mason must be judged is by his own evaluation of his conduct and by the principles which he knows to be the unerring and unchanging ones.
What can a Freemason expect to get from Freemasonry? The rewards of Freemasonry and the wages of Masons are endless, so long as a man is willing to strive for them. If he is content to be a “button Mason,” paying his dues merely for the privilege of wearing a pin, this is just what he will get out of Masonry. If he is content to be a “knife-and-fork Mason,” showing up at his lodge only when there is some type of banquet, he will receive only this from Masonry.
If however, he measures himself by the plumb and sets his standards accordingly, he will benefit from Masonic education, Masonic philosophy and from the association with the finest men in his community.
The standard by which a man judges himself as a Mason is the same unerring principle by which he judges himself as a family man, as a churchman, as a businessman, and as a citizen. He will learn to walk uprightly in all his endeavors, learning from the plumb the lesson of the rectitude of conduct. Each man must stand by the plumb line which is set in the midst of God’s people.”. I found his thoughts interesting, and I hope you do as well.
I look forward to seeing you in Lodge!
Fraternally,
Rick Young, WM
